Sedona PhotoFest 2019 will educate and inspire photographers and enthusiasts of every level with three days of free talks, presentations and workshops. The event includes technical and artistic insights and personal stories across a wide spectrum of interests including photojournalism, aerial photography, iPhoneography, impressionistic photography manipulations and much more.
This year, Sedona Photofest presents 11 speakers, four workshops and a Patron Party, where guests can mingle with photographers and view four rare pieces from the Marilyn Monroe: Golden Dreams Collection.
Friday
- The festival begins at Courtyard by Marriott on Friday, June 14, from 4 to 7 p.m. with a panel discussion, Photo Tech and the Creative Process and includes a Q&A with photographers Michael Seeley, Pam Taylor, Charles Ruscher, Bob Coates and Mal Cooper.
Guests are invited to attend the opening evening with questions in mind as these five diverse photographers share insights into their creative process and the tech they use.
- Saturday, June 15, the free talks begin at Mary D Fisher Theatre with Michael Seeley’s Chasing Rockets from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Seeley comes to Sedona from Melbourne, Fla., and is the co-founder of We Report Space.
His photographs are seen widely on social media, including in National Geographic Magazine, USA Today, Florida Today, the Guardian, Smithsonian Magazine, the Weather Channel, SpaceFlight Insider, Universe Today and We Report Space. He is an accredited media photographer and is often found at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station capturing images of the exciting equipment being built and NASA and SpaceX launches. - Next up is a talk by Al Babbitt. In 2010, Babbitt purchased the original and unique film positives and negatives used by Baumgarth Co. to produce the 1950’s Marilyn Monroe Golden Dreams pin up calendars. He will be speaking from 10:30 a.m. to noon at the Mary D. Fisher Theatre about the history of Marilyn Monroe, the iconic Golden Dreams collection and the color separation process.
Original Monroe large format color separations will be exhibited. These pieces are part of the Messenger Art Collection, represented by Goldenstein Gallery, 6,000 works of art created over 100 years by diverse calendar and promotional companies. - After lunch, the free talks move to Courtyard by Marriott in West Sedona, this year’s exclusive hotel sponsor at Sedona PhotoFest. The afternoon kicks off with Ted Grussing sharing his unique aerial photography from 1 to 2 p.m. His photography is not limited to the airborne version of landscape photography; instead, he creates mesmerizing abstracts, close ups of distinctive features of the earth and more.
- Photographer Betty Hum will then share her talk, Chasing the Light in Movement — From Dance to Birds, from 2 to 2:30 p.m. Hum studied photography while practicing law to enable her to capture the feelings and motions of dance, birds, as well as other wildlife. In her transition from law, she has been photographing educational, dance and community events for nonprofits in Scottsdale and Phoenix. She is represented by Goldenstein Gallery.
- Next, join Bob Coates as he explores what he calls PhotoSynthesis from 3 to 4:30 p.m. Borrowing techniques from many art genres including photography, watercolor, oil painting and acrylic artists, he combines everything into artistic representations that he terms PhotoSynthesis and Lens-Based Art. Coates said, “All of my source material comes in through a camera lens, but then all bets are off. I’ve been working on blending images and techniques for the last five to six years. As a bonus I’ve been exploring the reality utilizing artist brushwork that behaves the same in the digital realm.” Coates will be teaching a crash course at Sedona Arts Center Monday and Tuesday, July 1 and 2.
- Join Jordan Reece as he shares World Journalism from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Raised in the southern Arizona desert, Reece developed a fascination with the unique culture and vibrant scenery. He wears many hats as a professional photojournalist — including several years with the Sedona Red Rock News — as well as a wedding and landscape photographer. He will be sharing his experiences from around the world and his creative process.
- On Saturday evening, renowned Sedona wedding photographer Bonnie Miller will be teaching a free workshop on Coaching for Lifestyle Photography from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. If you are a lifestyle photographer, one of your jobs is to make your images look natural, not stiff, not awkward and definitely not staged. Your audience should see your images as moments that were going to happen regardless of whether or not you were there to capture it. Miller will teach how to direct models into the role that fits and adds to the mood of a shoot. This will help to bring out the candid feeling and will make images seem much more natural.
- The evening ends with a Patron Party on the observation deck at Courtyard by Marriott from 6:30 to 9 p.m. Those attending will have an opportunity to mingle with the presenting photographers and speakers in a relaxed evening under the beautiful Sedona sky, practice some night photography and view original Marylin Monroe large format color separations. Tickets are $40 per guest, with limited availability. Cash bar will be available until 8 p.m. Tickets are on sale at SedonaPhotofest.org.
- Sunday morning begins at Mary D Fisher Theatre, where attendees will learn how to Give Your Creative Genius a Voice through Photograph from 9 to 10:30 a.m. with Charles Ruscher. He combines his love of beauty, nature, adventure and people into a creative outlet where he seeks to produce extraordinary works of art. Ruscher has a deep connection to the night sky and this love of the stars calls him out quite often. His late-night forays into nature is also a time for him to find peace, contemplate life, and be in constant appreciation of this magnificent planet. He is also teaching a Starry Starry Night Photography Workshop at Sedona Arts Center on Saturday and Sunday, June 22 and 23.
- Amateur photographer Romy Reiner will be speaking next from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Reiner was born and raised in Los Angeles, Calif. For most of her life, she has been heavily involved in the arts, exploring multiple mediums including drawing, painting, sculpture and photography. She shares all of her work raw and unedited, allowing the viewer to experience her vision as she did the moment each photograph was captured.
She said, “I really started taking art seriously when I was about 12 years old, during the summer between 5th and 6th grade when I was fortunate enough to take a trip with my family to Africa. We traveled to Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. That was my first experience with photography. Since then, I knew I had a deep love and connection with the camera.” - Finally, Pam Taylor will present From Decisive Moment to Beauty Revealed from 1 to 2 p.m. She is a much-published, well-travelled freelance editorial photographer who is expanding to softer, more creative art. As a young photojournalist covering conflict in Latin America, she learned photo craft while covering conflict. Those images have been published in New York Times, Washington Post, Time and Newsweek magazines. In Thailand and China, she photographed medical research projects for the United States Army. Her photojournalism skills, such as the ability to navigate the street, shoot fast action, read a situation and connect with people have helped her in documenting performing arts such as dance, aerial silks and fire dancers. From her immersion in documentary she brings a strong sense of social justice and an underlying commitment to honoring people.
- Mal Cooper will present Jack of All Trades, Master of 9 from 3 to 4:30 p.m. at Courtyard by Marriott. She hails from New Zealand, known in Maori as the Land of the Long White Cloud. She has won numerous awards in photojournalism as the lead photographer of the Sedona Red Rock News, and has worked as a photographer documenting HERO humanitarian efforts in Nicaragua and Mainpat, India.
She currently teaches high school photography at Sedona Red Rock High School, where she shares her passion for photography with young people, focusing on the camera lens as both a means of artistic expression and capturing the human experience. - Next, Kelli Klymenko will give a presentation on iPhoneography from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. He is an artist photographer and the marketing director for Sedona Arts Center. Klymenko filmed and photographed the 2014-15 Sedona Chamber of Commerce television commercials and marketing campaign of billboards, print and web seen on VisitSedona.com. His images, including iPhone photos, can be found on Getty Images, in the 2014-18 Experience Sedona Guides, in multiple national ads and in creative projects around the world.
- The final talk of the day, Finding Other Worlds with Joe Llama, will take place at Sedona Arts Center from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. Joe has been a photographer for the past 10 years, specializing in landscape and nightscape photography. As an astronomer at Lowell Observatory, he hopes to capture some of the stunning locations he has had the fortune to visit. Originally from Wales in the UK, he has had the opportunity to photograph many countries in Europe and now the desert Southwest of the United States.
- After his talk, stop down in the lower parking lot behind the Historic Art Barn at Sedona Arts Center for a free and open to the public Star Party sponsored and hosted by Lowell Observatory. There will be two 12-inch Teeter telescopes and a third Lowell representative giving constellation tours from 8 to 10 p.m. Come see why Sedona is a Dark Sky community and experience the brilliant night sky with a little help from friends at Lowell Observatory.
Sedona Photofest 2019 is sponsored by: Sedona Chamber of Commerce, Goldenstein Gallery, Sedona International Film Festival, Lowell Observatory, and Sedona Arts Center, with giveaways donated by Sedona Giclee. Visit SedonaPhotoFest.org for more information to purchase Patron Event tickets or to sign up for workshops.
